Many Southern and Middle Belt Nigerians seem to have rejected the RUGA or cattle ranching plan of the Federal Government, partly because of fear that it may be used to import alien Fulani to skew future elections against the South. RUGA is a Hausa word for cow settlements.
Another fear is that the facilities may be converted into Forward Operational Bases for a future invasion of their communities. They also dread the violence to their persons and damage to their farms as witnessed in the not too distant past.
The Yoruba of Ilorin and the Hausa of Northern Nigeria obviously rue the days Fulani feudalism was foisted on their kingdoms, through stealth, and violence laced with the Islamic preselysation of their unwary forebears.
Some Southern and Middle Belt governors, after they were compelled to read the lips and body language of their citizens – some of whom suffered death, bodily harm, kidnapping, and loss of farm produce and other assets – had no choice but to reject RUGA.
It is pertinent to state that some South-West governors were not too keen to reject RUGA because they were unwilling to offend President Muhammadu Buhari, who had been their benefactor through recent political appointments.
Many Southern and Middle Belt Nigerians, who detest the idea of RUGA, however, rejoice in the saving grace in the constitutional provision that vests lands in governors of states, except, of course, the land of the Federal Capital Territory, which is vested in the Federal Government.
Initially, the Federal Government, beaten back by the hysteria of the anti-RUGA lobby, suspended the project. But then it rallied back with the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which some argue is RUGA by another name.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who has been assigned the role to sell the idea to the people of Nigeria, vehemently denies that the NLTP is RUGA in any form. Yet, many in Southern Nigeria think it is a red herring.
The Vice-President took pains to explain: “In this plan, the state governments or private investors provide the land, the Federal Government does not, and will not take any land from a state or local government.”
Instead, “Any participating state will provide the land, and its contributions to the project. The Federal Government merely supports.” The phrase, “Any participating state,” is probably used to emphasise the voluntary nature of the NLNP.
But the National Economic Council, constitutionally led by the Vice-President, and with all state governors, and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as members, is reported to be proposing a N100bn budget to jumpstart the project.
Reports add that the Federal Government will provide 80 per cent of the funding, while states, en bloc, will provide the balance 20 per cent. Some speculate that the funding will be coming from the federation Excess Crude Account.
The Federal Government will (most likely) offer N80bn from its share of the ECA, while all the states will contribute the balance N20bn, also from the ECA, in addition to contributing personnel and other resources.
Some critics – who may be regarded as ideological opponents of RUGA – have put a fine tooth comb into the use of the ECA fund for the NLTP, and have come up with the argument that the use of states’ matching funds from the ECA amounts to a breach of the constitution.
They argue that if the NLTP will be receiving funds withdrawn from the ECA, it means those states that do not endorse the programme are being compelled to indirectly fund it. They then suggest that some compensation must be paid to those states that will not participate in the scheme.
The NEC may have to consider this seemingly irritating contention, in order to absolve the Federal Government of shoving RUGA or the NLTP down the throats of states that have no interest in it whatsoever. That should take care of any constitutional boobytrap.
It looks like the Vice-President can’t win everything, though he was quick to add that the livestock that will be reared under this scheme will not only be cattle, but include other animals. So, it looks as if those who mischievously suggest that RUGA should include pig farming in Northern Nigeria may have their cheeky way after all.
States that are reported to be participating in the pilot scheme of the project, which is designed to run from 2019 to 2028, include Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Zamfara, even though Bala Dan Abu, Chief Press Secretary to the Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, denies Taraba’s participation.
But the South and those parts of the Middle Belt that have rejected the RUGA scheme, and have little holding of cattle inventory, must be thinking of how they would obtain their meat and dairy moving forward.
Of course, the Fulani, or any other group of cattle vendors for that matter, will still seek ways to sell their cattle, though it will certainly be more difficult to access these markets, especially where there are anti-open grazing laws.
Some practical Southern and Middle Belt Nigerians are suggesting two ways out of what looks like a jam. These middle to long term suggestions include: The Federal Government should encourage the herdsmen to convey their cattle by rail, while the states that had farm settlements should revive the same or establish new cattle farms.
The argument for encouraging herders to transport their cattle by rail is that even more cattle heads can be moved, safer, faster, and arrive the market more robust and healthier than they used to be. Even the herders will arrive less exhausted.
Reviving old farm settlements, or establishing new cattle farms, should provide meat, create jobs for the youth, improve the economy and social life in the rural communities, and check rural to urban migration. Some recall that the Western Nigerian Government of the First Republic had once travelled this route by importing and breeding dwarf cattle from Argentina.
And in addition to checking economic migration to other countries, the revived agricultural initiative should generate more tax revenue into the coffers of government, and provide raw materials for the renascent agro-allied industry.
It is necessary to stress that aspect of taxation thoroughly, especially because state governments keep complaining that they have low internally generated revenues. They really have no excuse if they will just look inwards, identify new business ideas, and encourage their citizens to seize the new initiatives.
Their usual whining that the Nigerian constitution overloads the Federal Exclusive List to the detriment of state governments is not going to be tenable forever, when all they need to do is to call up their lawyers, economists, and other experts to find ways to take advantage of leeway in the constitution to create new industries that will pay more taxes.
And if the entire Nigeria becomes more than self-sufficient in the farming of cattle and other livestock, it should reverse the import orientation of Nigeria’s economy, and put an end to the rampaging incursions of cantankerous alien herders who come to foment trouble with Nigerian farm folk.
If nothing else is considered, stemming the insecurity that accompanies herdsmen and farmers clashes is enough reason for Southern and Middle Belt Nigerians to think inwards in sourcing their meat.
